Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Quick Reviews: Tokyo Tribe

At long last, the Action Film/Rap Musical from Japan that we've all been hoping for.  This is...
In Tokyo, the big City is divided up between 4 'Tribes.'  Our Musical Narrator is here to walk us through what happens in this Story.
 Conflict is ever present as each Tribe controls their own area, but always hopes to control more.
The City is chock full of interesting and crazy people who just so happen to love wall art.
Chaos erupts as the battle for one important person comes up.  They hold the future of all of Asia in their hands- albeit indirectly.
This brings the arrival of some big-name, scary dudes and all-out war!  Be ready for lots of kicking of both ass and 'it old-school.'
Who will win this battle for supremacy among the Tribes?  Who dies?  Who gets served?  To find out, watch the Film.
Weird, weird stuff.  The Film is all sorts of bizarre for a number of reasons.  First off, it is a Rap-based Musical.  Is that a common thing over in Japan that I've just somehow missed over the years?  Mind you, the Japanese Band I know the most- Maximum the Hormone- does have/had a Rapper in it, but still.  Second- the Tone.  The Film is all over the place tone-wise.  At some points, it is straight-up Comedy.  At other points, it is darker, featuring death and just plain evil folks.  At other points still, it is just plain campy, featuring dick jokes, funny outfits and over-the-top visuals.  The rest of the time it is some sort of mix of all three.  Make sense?  The Acting is all over the map as well, pretty much trying to keep pace with the Film.  One Character varies from super-evil to jokey to menacing in a silly way to evil to strange again.  The Film has alot of fun, crazy moments though, in spite of the Tone issues.  It builds and builds in a pretty fun way and everything pays off.  Like I said, it is a mixed-bag as far as the whole experience goes, but lovers of Japanese crazy will adore it.  It is Streaming still on Netflix, so no excuses.  While you do that, I'll pick up some Interior Decorating Tips...
Damn strange and damn fun at times.  The Story and execution is all over the map, so not all will enjoy it the same.

No comments:

Post a Comment